Anil Isık¹, Gurcan Unlu², Omer Batin Gozubuyuk³, Turgay Aslanyurek¹, Can Bereceli⁴

¹Acibadem Sports, FIFA Medical Center of Excellence, Istanbul, Turkey
²Middle East Technical University, Department of Physical Education and Sports, Ankara, Turkey
³Istanbul University, Istanbul Medical Faculty, Department of Sports Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
⁴Besiktas Football Academy, Istanbul, Turkey

The Relationship between Previous Lower Extremity Injury, Body Weight and Bilateral Eccentric Hamstring Strength Imbalance in Young Soccer Players

Monten. J. Sports Sci. Med. 2018, 7(2), 23-28 | DOI: 10.26773/mjssm.180904

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effect of lower extremity (LE) injuries on bilateral hamstring eccentric strength imbalance (HSI) and to determine the relationship between body weight (BW) and HSI in young male soccer players. Eighty-eight young soccer players aged 14-19 in Turkey voluntarily participated in this study. Eccentric hamstring strength measurements were taken using a NordBord® Hamstring Testing Device. To obtain the LE backgrounds of the participants, individual interviews were administered to the players, and the obtained data were verified through a review of previous injury records. While 22 (25%) out of 88 players reported LE injuries in the previous two years (injured players (IP)), the rest of them (75%) did not report any LE injuries (non-injured players (NP)). HSI values as peak forces were computed by extracting the weaker leg values from the stronger leg values. Both the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were performed, controlling the BW effect in order to test the effects of LE injuries on HSI. Correlation analysis was also conducted, taking into consideration the previous research findings on the relationship between body weight and strength variables. There was significant relationship between BW and HSI ((p<0.05) (0.04> r >0.02)) and non-significant results for HSI (F (1.85) =0.578, p>0.05). However, the effect of BW was significant for HSI (F (1.85) =3.91, p<0.05, η2 = 0.068). This study supported the hypothesis that hamstring muscle strength imbalance is not affected by lower extremity injuries and that body weight is a factor that may affect strength imbalance.

Keywords

Hamstring strength imbalance, body weight, soccer injuries

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